ZF Executive Director Encourages Mothers and Distributes Food

In his first visit to Bangladesh since Zakat Foundation of America (ZF) opened its country office there in 2007, ZF executive director Halil Demir visited programs that provide aid and create self-sufficiency.

Mr. Demir attended a certificate ceremony for a six-month-long sewing program for women. He told the 50 graduates, mothers and homemakers from the slums of Dakar,

“This is real empowerment for women; a way that you can help yourselves and your families.” He encouraged them to work hard to better themselves and their families for the sake of their country. “Great mothers, he said, “can produce great leaders for a nation.”

The importance of mothers remained a theme on Mr. Demir’s visit to Mother & Child Health Care Center, where elders and women with small babies gathered by the hundreds for free checkups and medications. Two doctors and four nurses, along with a dedicated support staff, were diligently examining and treating each patient. Mr. Demir expressed his gratitude for the service the clinic provides, and good-naturedly submitted to a blood-pressure check for himself.

Mr. Demir returned to Dhaka at the end of his trip to visit the Hazaribagh slum in the morning and attend a ZF food package distribution. Residents of the slum were given bags weighing close to 30 pounds each and containing rice, beans and cooking oil among other foodstuffs. He enjoyed distributing the food to the recipients and prayed for their wellbeing and future self-sufficiency.

These programs address both the day-to-day and the long-term needs of some of the poorest people on the planet. Your generous donation to support ZF’s Bangladeshi programs both saves and changes lives.